


Childhood Friends

by musiclvr1112



Series: A Royal Dance [2]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: AU Yeah AUgust (Miraculous Ladybug), Alternate Universe - Childhood Friends, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Childhood Friends, Dancing, F/M, Medieval AU, Princess Chloe, Sexual Tension, peasant nathaniel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-22
Updated: 2018-08-22
Packaged: 2019-06-30 22:12:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15760731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musiclvr1112/pseuds/musiclvr1112
Summary: AU Yeah August Day 21: Childhood Friends AU





	Childhood Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Continuing from my [Royalty AU](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15668979)~

_"Nathaniel."_  A hand gripped his shoulder tight and jostled him while a voice whispered urgently, _“Nathaniel, wake up.”_ His heart rate exploding in an instant, the young artist jolted awake. He opened his eyes to the shadowy silhouette of a person leaning over him in the midnight darkness. Long, soft hair dangled in his face, and in what little light came from the crack under the door, he could make out her platinum blonde hair and blue eyes.

“Chloé?” he whispered, sitting up. “What are you doing? Don’t you realize that if you’re caught down here in the middle of the night, we’ll both get into trouble??” Though she had been sneaking down to the basement for years, the only other person in the castle who knew they were friends was Nathaniel’s adopted father—the court artist, Théo. Given that she was of courting age now, they needed to be more careful than ever— _especially_ at night.

She sat down on the foot of the bed and he crossed his legs underneath him. “I couldn’t sleep.”

He sighed, his system calming down from that abrupt awakening, and remembered the news he had heard about the queen earlier that day. “She’s gotten worse hasn’t she?”

In the darkness, he could just barely see her nod. “We thought she was getting better. She was even up and about all week. And then this morning, she just…couldn’t get up.” He could feel the weight of the bed change as she drew her knee up to rest her chin. “I don’t know what I’m going to do if she…”

The princess trailed off, hugging her leg to her chest insecurely.

Nathaniel wasn’t sure what to say. He wanted to be positive and tell her that the queen was going to be fine—someone with that much money and status couldn’t possibly be killed by something so small as illness. But he had seen the plague before—back when he still lived on the streets—and though the people in the castle were far less likely to catch it, the queen’s illness sounded all too similar. There was no blind optimism he could give her in good heart.

So instead, he tried to be a good friend.

Hopping up to his feet in the tiny room, he bowed and extended his hand to the young woman, lightly dragging his fingers across the backs of her knuckles so she would know despite not being able to see. “May I have this dance, your majesty?” he asked, still keeping his voice low so as to not wake Théo in the next room.

He could perfectly imagine her expression from the sigh she emitted. “Nathaniel, I don’t really want to dance.”

“That’s exactly why you need to dance.”

“It’s been a while since we’ve held a ball. I might not remember the steps.”

He laughed under his breath, knowing that wasn’t even the slightest bit possible, but nevertheless responded, “Then I’ll teach you.”

“It’s dark,” she whispered in a last ditch attempt as he took her hand, “I might step on your feet.”

“It’ll make up for all the times I’ve stepped on yours,” he said softly. She finally stood and he pulled her into what empty space they had in the room before pressing his palm to hers with a bow.

She curtsied, and he could already hear her dropping some of her stress in the way she sighed. Then he began a quiet, gentle hum. _Hmm-hm-hm hmm-hm-hm…_

Chloé’s movements were slow and heavy at first—she wasn’t spritely on her toes as she usually was when she danced. But her steps started to spring with more and more life as they slowly turned. After a full rotation, they switched hands and began to turn in the other direction, Nathaniel still humming _hmm-hm-hm hmm-hm-hm._ On the next step, her voice chimed in, weak, but harmonizing with his nonetheless.

_Hmm-hm-hm hmm-hm-hm._

The tune was mildly interrupted by Chloé’s giggle when they moved on to the next portion of the dance. It was always her favorite part— when Nathaniel took her hand and pulled her forward under his arm, taking small steps around her as she continuously spun around him. _Hmm-hm-hm hmm-hm-hm._ Her hair was so long these days that it sometimes whipped his chest mid-spin, and that only made her laugh more. They switched hands and moved in the other direction again.

_Hmm-hm-hm hmm-hm-hm._

The princess’s steps were finally light and spirited again—her giggles adding intermittent lyrics to their song—when they arrived at the waltz. With her right hand in his left, he pulled her in. They didn’t dance nearly as often now as they used to. It had been so long since he’d stood so close to her that he didn’t realize he had gained a couple centimeters on her. His right palm settled over the silky fabric of her dress on the small of her back as he drew her close. Her left hand found his bare shoulder, thumb mindlessly stroking his skin.

And they danced.

_Hmm-hm-hm hmm-hm-hm._

Humming together, they made a beautiful, hushed tune. Stepping together, they made a beautiful, slow dance.

_Hmm-hm-hm. Hmm-hm-hm._

Her breath tickled his collarbone. Her nails grazed his skin.

_Hmm-hm-hm._

She wasn’t wearing a corset and a million layers of skirts. He could feel the entirety of her form pressed against him, only separated by a thin silk nightgown.

_Hmm-hm-hm…_

Her breathing changed. Her heart thumped against his.

_Hmm…hm…hm…_

Their pace slowed. Their heads gravitated together.

_Hmm…hm……hm…_

When did their movements drift to a stop? When did they stop humming?

When did Chloé turn into such a beautiful…young…woman?

Her chest was soft, plush as it rose and fell against his in a slow, erratic rhythm with her pounding heart. Almost mindlessly, his hold tightened on her waist. His head dipped closer to hers. Her breath brushed against his lips.

“I…” she whispered, trailing off. “I-I should probably go back to bed…”

“Probably,” he whispered back. But she didn’t move. Neither of them did.

He wondered what her eyes looked like in that moment. What sorts of expressions swam in the princess’s beautiful, bright blue as she drifted in for a—

The princess.

His childhood best friend, Princess Bourgeois.

Nathaniel let go of her hand and smoothed his palm over her hair, pulling her head in to place a gentle— _innocent_ —kiss on her forehead. If there was any surprise in her reaction, it melted away after a moment, and she sighed, hand dropping to his other shoulder to embrace him as any friend would.

“Thank you, Nathaniel.”

“Sleep well, Princess.”


End file.
